We received an email from HealthNet that intrigued us enough to look at other articles.

The best we found was posted by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD)

Interestingly, there seems to be a bit of a discrepancy between the 2 articles.

According to HealthNet:

a 2012 survey [by the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality] revealed that most adult binge drinkers and heavy alcohol users were employed. In fact, 43.6 million adult binge drinkers were employed (75.4 percent of all binge drinkers) and 12.5 million people reporting heavy alcohol use were employed (74.7 percent of all heavy drinkers)

However, according to NCADD: “close to fifteen million are heavy drinkers of alcohol.”

Now, what both articles do agree on is the high cost of alcohol abuse on both the abuser and their workplace.

The HealthNet article quotes the CDC:

According to the CDC, alcohol misuse is associated with high costs to employers due to absenteeism, decreased productivity, turnover, accidents, and increased health care costs.

Similarly, NCADD states that:

employees who drink a lot are often absent from work, suffer from a lot of health problems, and are at a greater risk of harming themselves and others.

NCADD also made an interesting point:

And it isn’t just alcoholics who can generate problems in the workplace. Research has shown that the majority of alcohol-related work-performance problems are associated with non-dependent drinkers who may occasionally drink too much — not exclusively by alcohol-dependent employees. In addition, family members living with someone’s alcoholism also suffer significant job performance related problems- including poor job performance, lack of focus, absenteeism, increased health-related problems and use of health insurance.

FACT:  Workplace-based, EAP programs have helped millions of individuals and family members effected by alcohol problems.

If you or someone you love is in need of assistance, please check with your Human Resources professional about their Employee Assistance Program (EAP). If your employer doesn’t have an EAP, please call us, or complete the confidential form below, to see if we can be of assistance.

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